Here are profiles of five key actors in the Greek crisis: George Papandreou,
Giannis Panagopoulos, Angela Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Claude
Trichet.

George Papandreou was elected Prime Minister of Greece in October 2009. As leader of the Panhellenic Socialist Movement, he has sought to lay the blame for Greece’s debt problems on five years of overspending by the previous conservative government – and to scapegoat currency speculators, too.

After election, he revealed that the Greek budget deficit was much higher than previously thought. Mr Papandreou comes from a political family: he is the son and grandson of former Greek prime ministers. He was the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1999 to 2004, during which time he helped improve relations with Turkey.

Giannis Panagopoulos

Giannis Panagopoulos is the leader of the General Confederation of Workers (GSEE), the main private-sector trade union.

At a protest of thousands of union workers on March 5, he was attacked by three men – two threw cups of coffee and water at him, while another punched him.

Mr Panagopoulos has described the country’s austerity measures as “socially unjust” and said that: "The government bent on the pressures of the 'sharks' of international markets and Brussels, but we [the employers and workers] will not follow into these steps".

Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel is the first female Chancellor of Germany – and the first from the former communist half of the country. She is often compared with Margaret Thatcher, but in her first term as Chancellor, she was limited by her party's coalition with the centre-Left Social Democrats. She was finally released from the coalition in September 2009, and hooked up instead with the libertarian Free Democratic Party.

Mrs Merkel has been a fervent fighter for Germany’s interests in Europe, although she is a pro-European. Indeed, she was presented with the Charlemagne Prize for her “work to reform the European Union” by Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008.

She has resisted calls for Germany financial help to Greece, agreeing only to a bail out in the very worst circumstances. She did, however, say earlier this month that: “Germany can express its solidarity. We are here to help, show understanding.” She said that a austerity package from the Greek government was an “inordinately important step”.

Nicolas Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkzoy was elected as French President in May 2007. A former Minister of the Interior and Minister of Finances, he was elected promising to revive the French economy. He is seen as supportive of strong relationships with America and Britain.

On March 7, he held a joint press conference in Paris with the Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, and pledged that “should Greece need financial help, the eurozone will stand by it. That's what partners are for.”

Unlike his German counterpart, Mr Sarkozy wanted the bail out to be a European one, not one controlled by the IMF. On March 25, before the text of the deal had been finally agreed, the French government briefed journalists on its contents, emphasising the French victory in ensuring the central place of the European Union in the bail out.

Jean-Claude Trichet

Jean-Claude Trichet is a French civil servant who become President of the European Central Bank in 2003. He’s an ardent pro-European, who received a Vision for Europe Award for his contributions towards integration – and he is understood to be unhappy that the IMF has become involved in the Greek bail out.

Prior to the bail-out deal, he said that “if the IMF or any other authority exercises any responsibility instead of the euro group … [that would be] very, very bad”.

On March 23, Mr Trichet spoke out against offering cheap loans to the Greek government. “There shouldn’t be any subsidy element – no concessionary element,” he said.